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Student Wellbeing

At the heart of our education lies a sense of belonging, of safety, of family, of home. We celebrate what we build together, our identity, our purpose and our self-acceptance.

A school is not just a place where your child gains academic skills. It’s a place where your child will learn to be more resilient, feel more connected to the people around them and grow into a confident, caring and well-balanced adult.

Student wellbeing is incorporated throughout the fibre of the everyday workings of the school as a community. It is both implicit in the way we operate and interact as well as explicit in our structures, scheduled programs and expectations.

Whole school programs and structures focus on interpersonal skills, resilience and leadership in a continuum from Kindergarten to Year 12. Age appropriate programs and specialists focus on the developmental needs of students at each stage of their school life. CCGS's Wellbeing Framework embraces the whole community - students, parents and staff. Our vision is to ensure CCGS is a learning community that promotes student wellbeing, safety and positive relationships so our students can thrive.

We want our students to realise their own abilities and be empowered and supported to meet the challenges ahead and make positive contributions to our community.

Student support

Teachers K to12 are trained to note any concerns they have for their students’ wellbeing in our central student support system. This creates a holistic picture of each child’s wellbeing that can be shared efficiently with appropriate staff so concerns are not overlooked. Age appropriate student support teams include heads and deputies of sub schools, school psychologists and wellbeing staff. They meet weekly to review cases and develop support plans.

School psychologists

Three on-campus psychologists are available to assist students K to12, parents and staff, as required. The experienced psychology team provide short-term therapy adopting evidenced-based practice across a broad range of service areas including grief and separation, anxiety and mood-based concerns.

Connecting

Student wellbeing, morale, commitment and satisfaction is enhanced by the connections they make through the House system.

Each student is allocated to one of five Houses: Acacia, Banksia, Grevillea, Ironbark and Nicholii. Every week students gather for half-an-hour in House Families of fifteen or so children from K to 12, reflecting the notion of school as a family where every child is known and valued. Older students mentor younger ones and the younger ones get advice from older role models.

A framework of inclusive wellbeing activities delivers a variety of practical learning experiences during House Family sessions. The framework incorporates the wellbeing principles of:

Leadership

Inclusion

Support

Student Voice

Community

A tutor oversees each group and students and tutor stay together throughout their CCGS years. After House Family meetings the whole school assembles to celebrate our school spirit.

Students connect through House and interschool sport, debating, performing arts, community service and school outdoor education camps where they learn participation, enthusiasm, teamwork and leadership.

A community of respect

Our most essential standard of behaviour is that all members of the CCGS community will treat one another with kindness, honour and respect. This encompasses self-respect, respect for others and respect for the school.

Our positive school climate minimises incidences of bullying. Any cases of bullying, including cyber bullying, that are brought to the school’s attention are fully investigated and appropriate disciplinary action taken.

School diaries

School diaries help students K to 12 to organise themselves and are an informal way for teachers and parents to communicate.

Be You School

CCGS is proud to be a registered Be You school. Be You is about creating mentally healthy learning communities for everyone – staff, families, children and young people and beyond.

Junior Wellbeing

The Director of Wellbeing K to 6 is an extra resource in addition to the Deputy Head of the Junior School who has overall responsibility for wellbeing. As the social and emotional barometer of the Junior School, the Director of Wellbeing works closely with classroom teachers to observe and model strategies and also chairs the Student Support Team. The Director of Wellbeing is heavily involved in orientation and making sure new students settle in.

Extensive orientation programsensure new students are ready to start at CCGS. Kindergarten have five orientation sessions and students joining Years 1 to 6 have three orientation sessions.

Buddies show new students the ropes and introduce them to new friends and activities.

'You Can Do It', our structured junior wellbeing program, dedicates time to teaching the five key qualities that children have been shown to need for success at school and in later life: confidence, organisation, getting along, persistence and resilience.

Targeted small group programsenhance individualwellbeing when required. These include Worry Woos books and toys to combat anxiety, Seasons For Growth to help children deal with bereavement, and Rock And Water which uses physicality to enhance mindfulness, self-confidence and resilience.

Leadership opportunities for junior students build skills and motivate them to get involved in making a deeper commitment to serve their school and community.

DQ World, a certification course endorsed by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, strengthens digital awareness and online wellbeing for students in Years 4 and 6 across topics such as safety and security, screen time management and identity and information literacy.

House Coordinators are the go to ‘guardian angels’ who look after the wellbeing of senior students and are the first point of contact for parents. Middle School House Coordinators get to know what makes students tick in the adolescent Years 7 to 9. The Senior College House Coordinators take over for a fresh start in Years 10 to 12 and are expert in the broader challenges facing emerging young adults.

Over time House Coordinators develop deep knowledge of each student’s learning style and wellbeing needs. They act as advisors and mentors and aim to ensure personal growth and academic success.

Academic wellbeing is a key element of happiness at school and House Coordinators review termly Personal Learning Profiles (PLPs) to quickly identify those as risk and contact parents if there is any cause for concern. Parents can request a PLP at any time and the House Coordinator will contact teachers and gather the necessary feedback.

Developing resilience and sustaining the effort to strive and develop skills can be just as important as talent or ability. Senior students experience appropriate challenge so they can ‘fail forward’ and develop the grit and persistence to learn at their capacity, personally and academically.

Leadership through service creates a powerful sense of purpose and connection. We offer senior students increasing opportunities to experience the best source of happiness through giving, volunteering and helping others.

An off-site orientation retreat for our Year 12 students focuses on holistic wellbeing activities designed specifically to support and develop skills in resilience, goal setting and stress management for their final year of school.

Weekly early-morning yoga for senior students promotes mindfulness and relaxation before the school day starts.

A smooth transition to senior school is ensured through a fun getting to know you day and pairing up with buddies, so there are lots of opportunities for different personalities to find shared interests. House Coordinators play a key role in ensuring new students settle in.